The San Francisco 49ers made two notable additions to their defensive line this week, claiming Cassius Marsh and Sheldon Day off waivers. The 49ers were already expected to welcome Tank Carradine back this weekend, and Solomon Thomas could be back from his MCL sprain as well. The additions of Marsh and Day could add considerable depth to the line.
Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh chatted with the media on Thanksgiving, and he offered some updates on the two newest 49ers. Most notably, he said they both could contribute right away given their history in the type of defense the 49ers play. They have new verbiage to learn, but there is enough similarity that they could get out there pretty quickly.
“The cool thing with those two, they could be, very well. You still have tomorrow and Saturday to work through everything, but there’s so much recall. They understand our techniques. They understand exactly what we’re asking them to do. So, Sheldon and him could just slide right in and start playing. It’s just a matter of whether or not they can pick up the differences in verbiage. So again, just working all the way through to Sunday and see how that works out.”
Saleh said that Day is a “really good inside three-technique,” while Marsh is getting work at the LEO position. It was interesting to note that Saleh corrected himself, saying, “I shouldn’t even say LEO. He’s one of the defensive end spots.” Before Arik Armstead got hurt, we saw some rotation between him and Solomon Thomas after Tank Carradine went on injured reserve.
Armstead aside, the 49ers defensive line is getting considerably healthier at a good time. Aaron Lynch is off the injury report, Ronald Blair is back and contributing, Tank Carradine could come off injured reserve this week, D.J. Jones is mostly healthy, and Solomon Thomas is making progress back from his MCL sprain. Once Carradine is activated from IR, the 49ers defensive line will be as deep as it could be without Arik Armstead. Facing a shaky Seattle Seahawks offensive line, this could be a huge development for the 49ers.